Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic won his 24th Grand Slam title after the US Open but is he unvaccinated?
Novak Djokovic picked up another Grand Slam title as he defeated Daniil Medvedev in the 2023 US Open.
This was the Serbian’s 24th Grand Slam title, and he cemented his place as possibly the greatest tennis player of all time.
Djokovic made relatively light work of his Russian rival. The Serbian won the match in straight sets and even brought up a homage to the former LA Lakers star Kobe Bryant.
Djokovic hasn’t always been the player that fans love the most. Supporters seemed to have been split between Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Djokovic for a while. Federer and Nadal barely had any controversies apart from their rivalries on the court.
However, Djokovic has had some run-ins with authorities, especially over the Covid-19 vaccination.
Djokovic has missed many tournaments since the start of Covid-19 due to his vaccination status. The Serbian is not vaccinated and this was why he missed the Australian Open and the US Open in 2022.
In fact, Djokovic was scheduled to play in Australia last year, but had to leave the country due to his Visa getting cancelled.
However, the rules were relaxed in 2023, and Djokovic was allowed to play in the US Open this time around. His unvaccinated status was still a problem as he missed a few tournaments at the start of the year in the US since he was not allowed to participate in them.
Novak Djokovic has never openly spoken about having the Covid-19 vaccine or not, the 2022 Australian Open issue was an eye-opener to his vaccination status.
Al Jazeera reported a statement that Djokovic made in 2020 regarding his decision on the vaccination:
“Personally I am opposed to the vaccination against COVID-19 in order to be able to travel. But if it becomes compulsory, I will have to make a decision whether to do it or not.”
There was more to follow in 2020 as months later his wife, Jelena, and Novak both caught the virus. This happened because the pair conducted exhibition matches without any use of masks or social distancing.
Djokovic has been slammed by many for his vaccination beliefs, but he has stuck with them and continued playing tennis and winning titles.
He might have missed out on a couple of Grand Slams due to not being vaccinated. However, with vaccination mandates now changing, the Serbian is back on top of the tennis world and winning Grand Slams for fun.
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